Obama’s Consolation Prizes

OBAMA’S CONSOLATION PRIZES – House GOP released details of the six-month spending deal early this a.m. — David Rogers: “The White House must absorb real reductions in spending … The EPA would be cut about $1.6 billion below 2010’s funding. For the first time ever, annual Homeland Security Department appropriations will be going down. … [A]lmost a half billion would be lost from Obama’s requests for international food aid. But when it comes to the most crucial domestic battlegrounds, the cuts are a far cry from what House Republicans demanded. Indeed, the president will come out of the fight with more money to implement his education and Wall Street reforms. Both the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading commissions get modest increases – totaling about $110 million between them. Obama’s first love – ‘Race to the Top’ education reforms – is promised $700 million in new money …

“Even the EPA’s cut is about half of a $3 billion reduction the House had voted in February. AmeriCorps survives, after facing termination. The National Science Foundation received $6.9 billion, $307 million more than the House proposed. And mindful of the Democratic outcry, the Food Safety and Inspection Service is cut by just $10 million – a shadow of what Republicans had proposed two months ago. Under House rules, floor debate on the measure will likely be delayed until Thursday now because of the failure to complete the paperwork until almost 2 a.m. Tuesday – well past the midnight deadline Monday. … Less binding but still potent, the 68-page resolution calls for tens of billions more in appropriations cuts next year, largely targeted at domestic programs and foreign aid.” http://bit.ly/i38kWG